1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transportable, liftable cargo basket that is convertible from a walled transporter to a transporter not having walls. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved cargo transportation apparatus that can be lifted by means of a crane or by means of a forklift and wherein specially configured lifting eyes are placed on a perimeter beam and externally of removable walls, the perimeter beam is also carrying a winch rail having multiple winches that are able to slide to a select position relative to a cargo deck of the apparatus.
2. General Background of the Invention
Cargo baskets and like transporters have been used for the transportation of heavy goods. One of the most common uses of a cargo basket is the lifting of cargo from a dock or land based structure to a marine structure such as a vessel. In the offshore marine environment, such cargo baskets are often used to transport heavy loads from a boat to a marine platform such as an oil drilling or production platform.
Some cargo baskets have been patented. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,973 entitled “Shipping and Display Container.”
This patent discloses a box for transport and display, with removable walls and has a section whereby it may be lifted by a fork lift. Its abstract reads as follows: “A multi-sided, large shipping container which also serves as a display container once the merchandise is placed on sale such as in a supermarket or other store. Particularly useful for shipping and selling merchandise which may be handled by forklift trucks, the container has four wall sections each made from rigid frames and panels of plywood or other material with interlocking brackets at the bottom edges fastened to the reinforced bottom which has a pallet to accommodate the fork on a forklift truck and may or may not have wheels on the bottom. A one-piece top has edges which fit down over the respective upper edges of each wall section for quick detachment therefrom. Other brackets are provided at intermediate heights on selected wall sections to latch them together. The merchandise which may be in the form of smaller boxes or cartons of goods or not containerized is stacked on the bottom of the present container which resembles a pallet. Then the wall sections are assembled in place by aligning interlocking brackets and inserting interlocking pins on one bracket into openings in matching bracket portions. Then the entire container may be lifted by a forklift truck and transported by truck, aircraft or boxcar to the store where it is placed for display and actual sale of the merchandise by removing one or more of the wall sections.”
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,604—“Disassembleable, reusable container” discloses collapsible containers which can be assembled and disassembled and used with a fork lift. In col. 2, beginning at line 51, it states: “In contradistinction to the prior art containers which require support on a pallet or like device for use in conjunction with a standard fork lift, the subject, disassemblable container is preferably supported by its own bracing members above the surface on which it is supported. Therefore, there is adequate room for the forks of a standard lift truck to be inserted under the container so that it may be easily transported from one place to another.”
US Published Patent Application No. 20040188433—“Convertible, transport, cargo box system” discloses a cargo box with a top which opens and sliding sides. In FIG. 3C, one can see the slots whereby it may be picked up by a forklift. It is a rectangular box whereby one side can completely slide open (as in two gates slide away from each other) and the top can open and tuck behind a side.
US Published Patent Application No. 20080272136. Its abstract reads as follows: “In a transport case for transport of at least one high value, heavy transport goods, a floor is provided on which an object carrier is arranged on an inside of the case such that it can be displaced in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the case. At least one cover is connected with the floor with at least one hinge such that it can be folded over and the cover can be opened such that the transport good is freely accessible parallel to the longitudinal axis in an opened state of the transport case.” Please see for example FIG. 2, which shows that in one embodiment the box can open by having the entire top and walls fold over, and FIG. 7, which shows that in one embodiment the box can opened by sliding the walls outwardly. Also, a fork lift can lift from under the floor plate as the case is designed to be able to be picked up by standard fork lifts.
US Published Patent Application No. 20090272738 describes a cargo basket used for transportation of cargo in which there are fork slots for a forklift as well as one side which is made up of two gates (420 and 424) which may be removed for loading/unloading purposes (please see the figures).